Chapter 125 Ancient Rebirth Black Heart Lotus (2) (1/2)

In the main courtyard, Mu Qingling was sitting on the bed with a pale face, drinking the medicine bowl in her hand.

Her appearance was not as stunning as Mu Qingrong. If Mu Qingrong was a graceful peony, then she was a graceful little lotus. Although she was also a beauty, from childhood to adulthood, whenever she stood next to Mu Qingrong, Mu Qingling was always ignored.

Mu Qingling didn't mind these. Although her father died when she was young, she was treated as a standard lady. In addition, with her mother's teaching, she also cultivated a broad-minded temperament.

She never liked to compete with her sister.

Even if she didn't like to do it, Mu Qingling was still stimulated when she learned that her sister Mu Qingrong actually asked the servants around the prince to withdraw and had something to say to him alone.

This excitement was not so much because of the sadness that her husband might be moved. After all, on the wedding night, Mu Qingling already knew that the person her husband, the King of Linjiang, really liked was the second wife's legitimate daughter, Mu Qingrong.

The King of Linjiang never concealed this fact, and he even expressed his displeasure that Mu Qingling had married in place of Mu Qingrong.

It would be a lie to say that Mu Qingling was not sad to be rejected by her new husband right after she married. She could vaguely guess why she, who had not met the King of Linjiang that day, would marry in place of her sister. Although she was the legitimate daughter of the first wife, she lost her father and was just an orphan without the protection of her father in the Marquis's Mansion.

Although Mu Qingling rarely went out since her father's death, she lived in the same mansion and more or less understood the character of her third sister, Mu Qingrong.

She must have looked down on the King of Linjiang.

Then, pushing her third sister, who was also the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, out to marry the King of Linjiang instead of her was the best solution.

It would neither make the King of Linjiang angry and blame the Marquisate, nor would it make Mu Qingrong feel wronged.

Mu Qingling had already accepted it.

Hearing that the King of Linjiang loved to play, was unlearned and unskillful, and was an out-and-out dandy, she comforted herself that he was at least the younger brother of the present generation and had the status of a prince. Although he loved to play, at least he had no reputation for cruelty.

The rule in the Marquisate was that every daughter had to pay a dowry from the public treasury when she got married. The specifications for legitimate daughters and concubines were naturally different, but when it was Mu Qingling's turn to get married, the second aunt who was now in charge of the Marquisate's household affairs said that the Marquisate had been in trouble over the years, and the shops outside had also lost a lot of money. The silver and other things were strictly in accordance with the rules. Only the dowry, which looked good in name, was opened and it was found that it was all things that could not be taken out.

The second aunt did this because she was sure that Mu Qingling and her mother had no one to rely on, and her half-brother was young. If she, a married woman, used the reputation of the bad dowry prepared by the mansion to cause trouble, she would be the one who suffered in the end.

The Marquis's Mansion was her only support on the surface. Although women obeyed their husbands after marriage, if they wanted to live well in their husband's family, they still had to rely on their natal family for support. Based on this, Mu Qingling could only swallow the bitterness.

Her mother wanted to sell her dowry to make a dowry for her, but was stopped by Mu Qingling. No matter how glamorous her dowry was, no one dared to question her as a princess in the future, while her mother's dowry had to be kept, waiting for her brother to grow up and separate from the mansion to buy property.

She was a legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, and the second aunt could deduct it when she got married. When the Marquis's Mansion was divided in the future, it was clear that the second uncle and the second aunt would not be able to give much to the first wife.

Being pushed out to marry in place of others and having her dowry withheld, Mu Qingling could tolerate all these, but she could not tolerate the fact that Mu Qingrong had an ambiguous relationship with her husband after she married in.

If she liked the King of Linjiang at the beginning, why did she push her to marry in place of others?

Now Mu Qingling is already a princess, and Mu Qingrong, as the legitimate daughter of the second house of the Marquis's Mansion, does not care about her status at all and wants to be alone with the prince in front of so many servants in the palace. If the King of Linchuan was not present at the time and took the initiative to follow her, I am afraid that the gossips about the prince and Mu Qingrong would spread all over the capital before tomorrow.

A woman is involved with a man before she gets married. Does she have any other way except marrying him?

At that time, as a legitimate daughter, can Mu Qingrong be a concubine?

If she becomes a concubine, where will the face of the Marquis' Mansion be? The remaining sisters who have not yet married will be inferior to others when they find a husband in the future!

Even the young master in the mansion would have a hard time finding a wife with such a shameless sister.

Mu Qingling fell seriously ill the day after she got married. She was in a coma until today and just woke up. As soon as she woke up, she learned about such a thing. She was so angry that she wanted to faint again. She could only send someone to the bamboo forest and said that she had just woken up and thought she was going to die soon, so she asked her third sister to help her pass the message to the prince.

No matter how angry she was, for the sake of her mother, brother and innocent sisters who were still in the mansion, she had to bite the bullet and help Mu Qingrong save her reputation.

Although the people were sent out, Mu Qingling did not feel relaxed at all, but even more worried.

For some reason, she felt weak all over a few days before her marriage, and she fell into a coma after the wedding night after she got married. But even so, Mu Qingling was able to roughly understand some of his character through the short time she spent with her husband.

Lin Shiheng, the Prince of Linjiang, is the youngest son of the Queen Mother. When he was born, the Emperor had already been named the Crown Prince. It is said that the previous emperor had seven princes at that time, and each of them was outstanding. They had already started fighting before the Emperor was named the Crown Prince. When the Emperor was named the Crown Prince, these princes unanimously pointed their spears at him.

The Emperor has come to this day after dodging many open and secret arrows. Perhaps it was because he was deeply hurt by his half-brothers. After he ascended the throne, he was very tolerant of his younger brothers who did not participate in the fight, especially his younger brother, the Prince of Linjiang, whom he doted on.

The Prince of Linjiang was still young when the Emperor ascended the throne. The Queen Mother was his biological mother and the Emperor was his brother. He was a complete little tyrant when he was raised in the palace, so he had a childish temperament. But he was an adult, a powerful prince, and this childish temperament turned into a reputation of being a playboy.

In other words, he is a giant baby version of a bear child.

On the wedding night, Mu Qingling only talked to her naughty husband for a short time before she felt relieved. Obviously, although her husband was too arrogant, he was not a bad person. He might have never suffered any hardship, so he would take it seriously and do anything if someone urged him.

Although he was not very satisfied with her as the princess, he respected her. That night, he handed the palace to Mu Qingling. Mu Qingling did not expect her husband to fall in love with her after seeing her once, but just wanted to treat her with respect.

Since the prince trusted her and handed the entire palace to her, she would take good care of it and repay this trust.

Who would have thought that her dilapidated body would be in such a state that she fell into a coma the next day.

Mu Qingling sighed. She did not want to die. She wanted to live well, watch her younger brother grow up, marry and have children, move out of the mansion with her mother, and watch her live out her life.

Therefore, even though she was so angry about Mu Qingrong's suicidal behavior that might bring trouble to the entire Marquis' Mansion, Mu Qingling still stood up and drank the medicine to try to save herself.

But she was too weak and her hands were weak. After drinking a few sips, she slowly put her hands down and said softly, "Nanny, feed me."

The nanny, who had been carefully guarding the bedside, saw this scene and burst into tears. She quickly took the medicine bowl and scooped the medicine to Mu Qingling's mouth. Seeing that she fed herself a spoonful, she drank a spoonful, as if she didn't notice the bitterness of the medicine at all, and her tears fell more and more.

"Miss, I'll send a letter back and ask the lady to come and see you."

"No need."

Mu Qingling shook her head and smiled bitterly, "My mother will definitely cry when she sees me like this. Since the imperial physician said there is hope, why should I make my mother sad?"

Hearing her say this, the nanny felt even more pain in her heart and couldn't help crying bitterly.

Why did her daughter, who was such a good person, have such a miserable life? It would have been fine if she had lost her father at a young age, but she was the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion, but she had to avoid her younger sister and burn incense. She was clearly staying in the temple's wing room without stepping out of the door, but she was married here in such a muddle.

When she was angry about her dowry being tampered with, the girl comforted her, saying that she would be a princess in the future, a noble status. Who would have thought that the good days of being a princess would be ruined by a strange disease before they even started!

Seeing that the medicine in the soup bowl was finished, her daughter's face was pale and she closed her eyes slightly, looking very tired, but she still had to force herself to ask: "Is the maid I sent out back?"

This girl, of course, refers to the maid sent to the bamboo forest to find an excuse for Mu Qingrong to be alone with the prince.

The nurse thought of the undisguised publicity on Mu Qingrong's beautiful face again.

When she was in the mansion, her daughter repeatedly avoided her. Now that she is married, it is obvious that the third sister did not want the marriage. Why did she come to disrupt it? She did whatever she wanted. Why did she not care about the reputation of the mansion? Even if she did not want reputation and shame, there are still unmarried girls in the mansion!

The nurse was so angry that her teeth itched, and she spoke with anger: "You haven't come back yet, young lady. If you want me to say it, you should tell the mansion about the despicable things that the third sister did today."

"The mansion."

Mu Qingling seemed to have thought of something, and there was a little mockery in his eyes. He said in a light voice: "I'm afraid it won't work. The second uncle and the second aunt have always been of the same mind. Even if I tell them, they will only think that I am deliberately tarnishing the reputation of the third sister."

"Then we can't just let the third sister seduce the prince!"

There are only two of them in this room, and the nurse is not afraid of breaking taboos when she speaks, He just said bitterly: "It was clearly because she looked down on the prince and refused to marry him, so she pushed the girl to her. Now that the girl has married, she is clinging to him again. Even the girls from poor families who can't afford to eat are not as shameless as her!"

"No matter how shameless she is, I will protect her even for Ning'er's reputation."

Ning'er is Mu Qingling's half-brother Mu Ning. Her father went back to his hometown to worship his ancestors. On the way back, he fell seriously ill and died before he could return to the capital. The concubine who followed him was frightened and gave birth to a son and followed him.

When they returned to the capital, the eldest lady, who suddenly learned of her husband's death, almost fainted from crying, but the facts were in front of her, so she could only put away her sadness and raise the illegitimate son under her knees.

After so many years of teaching, although he is a concubine's son, he is no different from a legitimate son. In Mu Qingling's heart, her younger brother Mu Ning and her mother are the only two people she cares about in the Marquis's Mansion.

Now Mu Qingrong is about to drag down the entire mansion with one big move. Mu Qingling doesn't even have the energy to be angry. She has long been accustomed to the temper of her third sister who doesn't care about others as long as she is happy. Even her second uncle and second aunt have never considered the reputation of the mansion, right?

Now, she just wants to survive until her younger brother grows up and can live separately with her mother. By then, the mess in the Marquis's Mansion will no longer affect their family.

Mu Qingling felt a little sleepy after drinking the medicine, but she had to wait for the maid she sent out to come back. She could only force herself to ask the nanny to bring her a book to read. As a result, she had just read a few pages when she heard a woman crying outside the door and the sound of the maid scolding her.

She was ill to begin with, and after being quarreled with, her beautiful eyebrows could not help but frown tightly together, and she asked with a pale face: "Who is outside?"

The nurse looked at her daughter with pity, and stood up hurriedly: "I will go and see."

After a while, the people who quarreled outside were brought to Mu Qingling's bed.

She was wearing a coarse cloth, but it did not affect her beautiful appearance. She knelt on the ground as soon as she entered the room. When she saw Mu Qingling leaning on the bed, she felt like she saw a savior, so she crawled to the bed while crying.

When she reached the bed, she kowtowed repeatedly, begging: "Please, princess, save me, please, princess..."

Mu Qingling was so annoyed by her crying that he could not help but press his forehead and asked the maid who came in with the woman: "What's going on?"

The maid looked embarrassed, hesitated for a few times, and knelt on the ground, saying crisply: "This is... the prince's concubine."

"She originally lived in the West Garden. Today, when she heard that the princess woke up, she made a fuss to come to find the princess. The guards in the mansion did not dare to stop her, so she disturbed the princess."

"No! I'm not a concubine!!"

The woman was stimulated by this sentence, raised her bloody head and begged: "I am from Longxi. A few days ago, I went to Beijing with my father. I met the prince on the road. He tied me up and took me back to the mansion, saying... he wanted to take me as a concubine. Please show mercy, princess! There is also an engagement, so I really can't serve the prince!"

"I wanted to die, but the prince didn't touch me these days because of the princess's illness. Now that I am still innocent, I want to ask the princess, please show me mercy..."

After saying that, she continued to kowtow to Mu Qingling without fear of pain, begging: "Please show me mercy and let me go back, please show me mercy..."

Mu Qingling's eyes went dark after hearing this, and she almost fainted. The nurse saw that her face was pale and transparent, stepped forward to help her, and asked worriedly: "Miss?"

"I'm fine."

Mu Qingling breathed a few times with white lips, and finally calmed down, and then exhaled, "Send this girl out of the house, and then transfer fifty taels from my private treasury to her to calm her down. If the prince asks, just let him come to me!"

The last sentence was full of anger.

She thought that although her husband was not a great hero and was not very knowledgeable, he was not a villain and treated her as a princess with respect.

As a result! He actually robbed a commoner girl! And at the foot of the imperial city!

There were no rules in this palace. Putting aside the matter of this girl, the fact that she could run all the way to the princess's main courtyard as a concubine showed how unruly the palace was.

The guards couldn't stop her, and the maids couldn't stop her either!

To put it bluntly, what if it was not this poor girl who broke in today, but a foreign man?

Mu Qingling made up her mind to take care of the affairs of the palace after she recovered a little. As for the prince, even if it would anger him, she had to make it clear to him that it was okay to have a concubine, but she could never force a girl who didn't want to, because that would be no different from a beast.

As soon as she thought of this, she heard the poor girl who was helped to stand up by the maid let out a short scream, and then, as if she had seen a beast, she quickly shook off the maid's hand with blood all over her head and hid by the bed, her eyes full of despair.

"Princess...Princess, save me..."

Mu Qingling supported herself and looked over, and sure enough, she saw her husband, Linjiang King Lin Shiheng, who had opened the curtain and walked in.

She clenched her weak hands slightly, and said to the poor woman in a soft voice: "Don't be afraid."

For women, the most fearful thing is to be a concubine and have their innocence tarnished. If she doesn't care today, this poor woman will probably die.

Even if she angered the prince today, she must save this woman!

Lin Shiheng looked at Mu Qingling, who was looking at him with a pale face. She was only sixteen this year, with a beautiful appearance, and looked very weak because of her serious illness. Only her almond eyes were not as calm as the original owner's memory, but with a little anger.

He frowned and looked up and down at the shivering woman hiding beside the bed, "Who is this? Why is there blood all over her head?"

He then looked at Mu Qingling who was leaning weakly, "Is she your man, Princess?"

Mu Qingling did not relax, but asked: "Your Majesty, don't you know her?"

"I meet so many people every day. If I knew everyone I met, I would have been exhausted."

Lin Shiheng didn't care about the coldness in her tone. After he finished speaking, he sat down on the bed with a swagger, looking at the woman standing by the bed with a look of disgust. Seeing that she was shaking non-stop because of his eyes, the disgust in his eyes suddenly became heavier.

"It's bloody, it's an eyesore, why don't you go down and clean it up." He said this with a look of disdain, and then turned his head to look at Mu Qingling, with a puzzled tone: "How can there be such an ugly girl beside you? And with such a bloody face, isn't it disgusting?"

"Ugly?"

Mu Qingling almost laughed at him: "If the prince thinks she is ugly, why did you force her back?"

"I robbed her?"

The Linjiang King, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, was stunned, and his eyes showed a look of sudden enlightenment: "I drank too much that day and robbed a beauty to enjoy. Princess, aren't you sick? I put her in the West Garden first."

"Now that the princess is recovering from her illness, I should enjoy her well."

He said it with confidence, and then turned his head to look at the woman who was standing and shaking while holding the bed curtain tightly. His eyebrows gradually frowned together, and he looked her up and down in confusion.

"This king...brought back such an ugly person? It seems that he drank too much and can't judge people well."

King Linjiang, who has high requirements for appearance, forgot what he said just now that he wanted to enjoy the beauty, and directly ordered:

"You guys, throw this person out of the palace quickly, don't pollute this king's eyes again!"

The maids in the room looked at each other, not daring to move for a while. Lin Shiheng kicked the corner of the bed directly: "Hurry up! How come you didn't eat!"

Mu Qingling, who was leaning weakly on the bed, carefully observed his expression and found that he really disliked the ugliness of the commoner woman. Although he was puzzled, he still nodded to the maids and said: "Send her out of the house, give her fifty taels, and ask a doctor to check her wound."

"Yes..."

Several people bowed and hurriedly left the room with the woman with a face full of "Thank God, Thank the Earth, Thank the Princess".

Lin Shiheng first smiled at Mu Qingling, then looked at the nurse standing by the bed with a look of "I want to protect my daughter" with disdain.

"You guys leave, I have something to say to the princess."

He is the prince, the most important person in the palace, so even if the nurse is worried, she can only bow and leave.

For a while, only the couple was left in the room.

"Princess, don't worry, I just asked the imperial physician, he said that it will only take three days for you to recover completely, and when you are well, I will accompany you to the Marquis' Mansion to return home. You missed your return home because of your illness."

Mu Qingling looked at Lin Shiheng in front of him, who looked normal, and was a little unsure why he suddenly treated her so well. Was he guilty? But he didn't show any guilty look when he was facing the woman who was robbed just now.

She hesitated for a moment and asked, "I wonder if the prince has ever robbed other women before?"

"No, only her. My mother was afraid that I would indulge in women and lose my body, so she specifically ordered me to marry a princess before I could take a concubine. I just robbed her back and haven't had time to enjoy her yet."

He looked so matter-of-fact, as if he was not talking about robbing a woman, but "I went to the street to buy a cabbage". Mu Qingling wanted to get angry but didn't know where to start. Her face turned pale again.

But this was her husband, so she could only use a gentle tone to persuade him.

"Your Majesty, that girl clearly doesn't want to be with you. Not only will you not have any fun getting her, but you might even force her to commit suicide. If you like beauty, you can find some girls who are willing to serve you and give them a proper status. Then you can enjoy it more if both parties are willing."

Lin Shiheng: "But I don't like girls who are not willing to serve me."

Mu Qingling felt choked up and took a few breaths. She held her breath to see if Lin Shiheng was listening to her, and forced a smile:

"But like this, forcibly taking a girl from a good family is against the law. Even if you are a prince, it is against the law."

Mu Qingling tried hard to recall the books she had read before, and planned to use a long speech today to change her husband's illegal idea of ​​​​forcibly taking women from the people.

As a result, she had just started to speak, and the handsome prince in front of her, who was about the same age as her, nodded with a look of realization.

"So that's how it is."

"Then I won't rob it next time."

Mu Qingling, who had prepared a lot of words to persuade her husband, paused.

She was a little confused and at a loss.

He actually agreed so straightforwardly.

Is it just... that simple?